IP owners must continually weigh the costs and benefits of procuring, protecting, and enforcing IP assets through to litigation. In today’s economic climate, some companies have been forced to reduce their R&D budget as well as their legal spending. As a result, in-house counsel and business executives must often build a case internally within their company as to why the procurement, protection, and maintenance of IP assets is a sound investment.
In this session, participants will canvas the challenges faced when trying to maximize the value of their IP including:
- IP Budgets: Which line items are critical and which are dispensable?
- What’s the best way to make the internal business case to defend your IP budget?
- When should companies litigate to enforce IP assets and when should they walk away?
- How can companies and their outside counsel better predict a realistic budget for IP litigation cases?
- What is a sound matrix for procuring and maintaining IP assets?
Panelists for this session include: Alexander Arato, Vice President, Associate General Counsel, CA, Inc.; Valerie Calloway, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Polymer Group, Inc.; Paul Hunter, Partner, Electronics Practice; Jeannie McCarver, Associate General Counsel, U.S. Bancorp; Renee Rymarz, Senior Counsel, Global IP – Patents, Kraft Foods Inc.; Jonathon Spivey, Partner, IP Litigation Practice; and Michael Whitehead, Chief Counsel – Intellectual Property, The Lincoln Electric Company.